Vault



Patented `luly 21, 1925..

UNITED STATES HERMAN SUTHERS BURNETTVO BRISTOL, VIRGINIA.

Appncamn med april so, 1923. seriai No. 635,609.

To all whom it may concer/n.'

Be it known that I, HERMAN S. BURNETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, in the county of Washington and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsA in Vaults, of which' the following is a specification.

The inventionrelates to improvements in wall or chimney safes.

It is .an object of the invention to provi-de a safe particularly adapted for use in homes which may be installed in a mantle and which is so constructed that the exterior alppe'arance of the mantle does not indicate t e provision of a safe therein.

In carrying out my invention I preferably provide a safe' which may be placed within an opening formed within a mantle and having a" cover plate finished so as to conform with the. general'appearance and outline vof the mantle, giving the mantle as a unit a conventional appearance. The cover plate for the vault, however, is capable of being opened to' permit access to be had to the vault proper, the door of which is operable by a key or other lock controlling device.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown one embodiment of the invention, wherein Fi re 1 represents a view of the vault and t e mantle.

Figure 2 represents a lfront sectional elevation with the mantle plate lowered; and,

Figure 3`represents a detail view.

Figure 4 is a detailed view.

Referring now more particularly to-v the drawings wherein like reference characters indicate-corresponding parts, the numeral 1- designates a mantle whichmay be of any conventional type having suitable ornamentation. It preferably contains the usual fireplace and has an outward appearance of the general type of mantle now' in use.

Positioned within the mantle and hinged thereto by a pivot 2 is a closure 3, the outer y'surface of which is decorated to harmonize with the general'appearance of the mantle. A latc'lr normally maintains this closure in an elevated position.

The mantle is formed behind this closure with an opening 4; seated within the brick .work of the same, and into this opening there is placedthe body 5 of the safe preferably constructed of cast iron or the like. This body, however, may be composed of other metals and is united to the brickwork of the mantle by cement anchors or other fastening devices. The body is provided with partitions 6 dividing the same into a plurality of compartments 7, each receiving drawers 8 slidable therein and projecting to a point slightly in the rear of the forward edge of the cast iron body. These drawers are similarly providedwith closures 41() preferably having permutation locks 11 by which access may be had to the contents of4 anyone of said drawers.V

The mantle closure 3 along its inner surface is provided with locking mechanism consisting of a pair of oppositely disposed sliding bolts 11 having teeth 12 along one surface thereof adjacent one end of each bolt,

said bolts sliding through the straps 13. The bolts are normally maintained in an eX- tended position by means of the springs 14 which surround the same and engage a portion of a plate carried by said closure, said bolts when in an extended position entering keepers 15 formed in the body 5 of the safe.

Interposed between the sliding bars 11,

'there is provided a rotatable gear 16, the

same being journaled on the main closure door 3 and the teeth of which mesh with the teeth formed on the sliding bars 11. Suitable sto s 18 limit the opening movement of said bars when said gear 16 is rotated. To rotate the gear 16 and to operate the latch bars 11, the closure plate 3 of the mantle is provided witha removable key plug 19. This plug conforms to the appearance ofthe closure, but when removed permits free access to be had to the key receiving opening 20 in the rotatable gear 16. When the plug is removed and a rectangular key inserted through said opening it engages the key receiving opening 2() in the gear 16 and by operating this key the lockingbolts 11 are retracted due to the rotation of the gear 16 and are withdrawn from their keepers whereby the main closure 3 drops to the position shown in Figure 1 and is supported in this Iposition by a chain. By operating the permutation locks on the doors of the various compartments inthe casing 3 access can be had to 'any of these comheld Within a locked position. The removable plug is placed in lieu of the key in the keyhole in sai-d door and the mantle then has the same appearance as the usual house mantle and unless it is known to contain a 5 safe this thought would never suggest itself to any unauthorized person.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

The combination with a mantle, a pocket 10 disposed Within said mantlev at the rear thereof, a vault in said pocket having an open side, a hinged closure for said vault,

such closurebeing adapted to conceal and close the vault, means for locking said closure having an opening passing therethrough and adapted to receive an insertable implement to cooperate with the locking means to operate the same, a plug normally disposed within said opening to conceal the implement opening.

Y In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

HERMAN SUTHERS BURNETT. 

